Equipment - Cameras old enough to be your father
Not much of note here, except for the fact that this is all analog equipment. There's something of film and paper and trays of chemicals in a darkened room that really suits my temperament. I've got a ton of older gear that I've inherited over the years, like a half-dozen box Brownies, a couple of Duaflex, the odd Argus reflex and even some Six-16 folders, but the list below is the gear that I use most regularly.
Cameras:
35mm:
Nikon N80 - A go-everywhere SLR that is surprisingly rugged for its size and weight.
Pentax Spotmatic SP F - 1973 version of the screw-mount gem. The first SLR with "open aperture metering". The Takumar lenses are known for excellent quality.
Olympus XA2 - A nifty little clamshell design with an amazing Zuiko lens. The photographer's "vacation camera"; the only camera I own that fits in my pocket.
Medium Format:
Holga 120N - The plastic fantastic toy camera, decidedly low-tech but still capable of some remarkable images.
Zenza Bronica GS1 - A standard wedding/portrait camera from the 1980s. When 6x6 isn't enough, try 6x7. I loved this camera when I first bought it, (KEH - trust them) and I loved it even more when I swapped off the fancy prism and speed grip for a waist level finder.
Rolleiflex 3.5f - THE legendary camera for the ages. The camera that Robert Capa (and more recently Vivian Maier) made history with. This 3.5f model features the pin-sharp Planar lens - An outstanding camera from 1959. This one's my baby. It consistently produces the best negatives in my darkroom, and when I take it out to shoot, it always sparks conversation.
Instant Cameras:
Polaroid sx-70 Sonar - After watching these go for upwards of $150 on Ebay, I picked one up at a thrift store for $4.99. It's time to find out what the all fuss about the "impossible" instant films is about.
Polaroid 420 - an old workhorse previously used to document works of art. I hope it does more than sit on my shelf.
Large Format:
Calumet CC-400 - a nice, sturdy 4x5 monorail view camera. Excellent for learning the basics of large format photography. This was my introduction to the world of Large Format photography. Despite the fact that this is a bare-bones camera the size and weight of a boat anchor, it can produce some outstanding images.
Burke and James Grover - an 8x10 view camera with sexy red bellows and 5x7 and 4x5 reducing backs. At the present time, I don't have any lenses that will properly cover 8x10, so I've been using a Dollar-Store magnifying glass wedged in a piece of mat board for a lens. Don't laugh, it works better than it sounds, and on a dollar for dollar comparison, it outperforms my 203mm Kodak Ektar lens. (Don't get me wrong, the Ektar is by far the better lens, but it was relatively expensive, and doesn't nearly cover 8x10 at infinity...just saying.) By the way, my Dollar-Store lens measures out to about 325mm f3.5, and with a bit of black card, I have aperture stops down to f42.
Darkroom Gear:
I started printing using a cheap but functional Hansa condenser enlarger, a standard Gralab300 timer and a nice, sturdy Saunders four-blade easel. I've since added substantially to my gear, with my main enlarger being a vintage Beseler 45MX.
Though I have been told it would not work, or perhaps because I was told it would not work, I have developed a lot of prints using instant coffee as a print developer. Here is my article on the process. (updated February, 2009) If you've got a working darkroom, please give it a try. (It's easy) I'd love to see more people printing in this way.
Wish list:
Cameras I'd love to own:
I would just love to add a nice folding camera to my kit... I'm particularly drawn to the Super Ikonta line.
I really enjoy my Calumet and Burke & James Monorails, but they are beasts to lug around in the field. For any work outside the studio, I'd like to have something that is light and portable, but still offers good, precise movements. I've been reading for months, but until my bank account says otherwise, this is going to stay a wish. I think the Ebony 4x5s are truly wonderful, I've seen one, and even (briefly) handled it, but at $2K - $4K they are way out of my league. Running at less than half that price, I think a slightly more modest Chamonix 45 n-2 would be a much more suitable camera for a soon-to-be-retired school teacher.
Contact me if you'd like to give me some nice gear.
Cameras:
35mm:
Nikon N80 - A go-everywhere SLR that is surprisingly rugged for its size and weight.
Pentax Spotmatic SP F - 1973 version of the screw-mount gem. The first SLR with "open aperture metering". The Takumar lenses are known for excellent quality.
Olympus XA2 - A nifty little clamshell design with an amazing Zuiko lens. The photographer's "vacation camera"; the only camera I own that fits in my pocket.
Medium Format:
Holga 120N - The plastic fantastic toy camera, decidedly low-tech but still capable of some remarkable images.
Zenza Bronica GS1 - A standard wedding/portrait camera from the 1980s. When 6x6 isn't enough, try 6x7. I loved this camera when I first bought it, (KEH - trust them) and I loved it even more when I swapped off the fancy prism and speed grip for a waist level finder.
Rolleiflex 3.5f - THE legendary camera for the ages. The camera that Robert Capa (and more recently Vivian Maier) made history with. This 3.5f model features the pin-sharp Planar lens - An outstanding camera from 1959. This one's my baby. It consistently produces the best negatives in my darkroom, and when I take it out to shoot, it always sparks conversation.
Instant Cameras:
Polaroid sx-70 Sonar - After watching these go for upwards of $150 on Ebay, I picked one up at a thrift store for $4.99. It's time to find out what the all fuss about the "impossible" instant films is about.
Polaroid 420 - an old workhorse previously used to document works of art. I hope it does more than sit on my shelf.
Large Format:
Calumet CC-400 - a nice, sturdy 4x5 monorail view camera. Excellent for learning the basics of large format photography. This was my introduction to the world of Large Format photography. Despite the fact that this is a bare-bones camera the size and weight of a boat anchor, it can produce some outstanding images.
Burke and James Grover - an 8x10 view camera with sexy red bellows and 5x7 and 4x5 reducing backs. At the present time, I don't have any lenses that will properly cover 8x10, so I've been using a Dollar-Store magnifying glass wedged in a piece of mat board for a lens. Don't laugh, it works better than it sounds, and on a dollar for dollar comparison, it outperforms my 203mm Kodak Ektar lens. (Don't get me wrong, the Ektar is by far the better lens, but it was relatively expensive, and doesn't nearly cover 8x10 at infinity...just saying.) By the way, my Dollar-Store lens measures out to about 325mm f3.5, and with a bit of black card, I have aperture stops down to f42.
Darkroom Gear:
I started printing using a cheap but functional Hansa condenser enlarger, a standard Gralab300 timer and a nice, sturdy Saunders four-blade easel. I've since added substantially to my gear, with my main enlarger being a vintage Beseler 45MX.
Though I have been told it would not work, or perhaps because I was told it would not work, I have developed a lot of prints using instant coffee as a print developer. Here is my article on the process. (updated February, 2009) If you've got a working darkroom, please give it a try. (It's easy) I'd love to see more people printing in this way.
Wish list:
Cameras I'd love to own:
I would just love to add a nice folding camera to my kit... I'm particularly drawn to the Super Ikonta line.
I really enjoy my Calumet and Burke & James Monorails, but they are beasts to lug around in the field. For any work outside the studio, I'd like to have something that is light and portable, but still offers good, precise movements. I've been reading for months, but until my bank account says otherwise, this is going to stay a wish. I think the Ebony 4x5s are truly wonderful, I've seen one, and even (briefly) handled it, but at $2K - $4K they are way out of my league. Running at less than half that price, I think a slightly more modest Chamonix 45 n-2 would be a much more suitable camera for a soon-to-be-retired school teacher.
Contact me if you'd like to give me some nice gear.